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Robert Devaney • April 11, 2016

President Barack Obama outlined his administration’s comprehensive action plan to deal with climate change in a landmark speech at Georgetown University June 25.

Obama addressed a small crowd and media from the steps of the Old North Building where George Washington and other presidents as recently as Bill Clinton have spoken.

John DeGioia, president of Georgetown University, even as a U.S. Park Police helicopter flew low over the Dahlgren Quadrangle, heralding the arrival of the president’s motorcade, reminded the crowd of the university’s work on sustainability and interdisciplinary studies on climate and welcomed Obama back to the campus.

Obama thanked supporters, government leaders and “the Hoyas in the house” and launched into a vigorous defense of his view on global warming — outside in the humid heat of a Washington, D.C., summer afternoon. As he had done in his June 19 Berlin speech, Obama advised those in the crowd to remove their jackets and said, “It’s not that sexy.” The president along with the audience sweated in the heat.

At the start of his speech, the president hitched the importance of his climate change plan to the success of the U.S. missions to the moon and what they showed the world.

This ecological vision involves an out-of-this-world event during Christmas 1968 when Apollo 8 orbited the moon and sent back stunning, never-before-seen photos of the Earth from space as astronauts read from the Book of Genesis to a television audience. “And while the sight of our planet from space might seem routine today,” Obama said. “Imagine what it looked like to those of us seeing our home, our planet, for the first time. Imagine what it looked like to children like me. Even the astronauts were amazed. ‘It makes you realize,’ [astronaut Jim] Lovell would say, ‘just what you have back there on Earth.’ ”

From this mythopoetic height, Obama continued along a scientific vein, listing facts and figures to back his case on climate change as the most important challenge of the 21st century.

“The 12 warmest years in recorded history have all come in the last 15 years,” he said. “Last year, temperatures in some areas of the ocean reached record highs, and ice in the Arctic shrank to its smallest size on record — faster than most models had predicted it would. These are facts.”

“Now, we know that no single weather event is caused solely by climate change,” the president said. “Droughts and fires and floods, they go back to ancient times. But we also know that in a world that’s warmer than it used to be, all weather events are affected by a warming planet. The fact that sea levels in New York, in New York Harbor, are now a foot higher than a century ago — that didn’t cause Hurricane Sandy, but it certainly contributed to the destruction that left large parts of our mightiest city dark and underwater.”

He also said he had lost “patience for anyone who denies that this problem is real. . . . In a world that’s warmer than it used to be, all weather events are affected by the warming planet.”

“We don’t have time for a meeting of the Flat-Earth Society,” Obama said. “Those who are feeling the effects of climate change don’t have time to deny it. They’re busy dealing with it.”

“So, the question is not whether we need to act,” Obama said. “The overwhelming judgment of science — of chemistry and physics and millions of measurements — has put all that to rest. Ninety-seven percent of scientists, including, by the way, some who originally disputed the data, have now put that to rest. They’ve acknowledged the planet is warming and human activity is contributing to it.”

Concerning the upcoming decision on the Keystone pipeline, here is what the president said: “Now, I know there’s been, for example, a lot of controversy surrounding the proposal to build a pipeline, the Keystone pipeline, that would carry oil from Canadian tar sands down to refineries in the Gulf. And the State Department is going through the final stages of evaluating the proposal. That’s how it’s always been done. But I do want to be clear: Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing so would be in our nation’s interest. And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. The net effects of the pipeline’s impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward. It’s relevant.”

Noting that certain toxins are already captured by power plants, Obama said, “So today, for the sake of our children, and the health and safety of all Americans, I’m directing the Environmental Protection Agency to put an end to the limitless dumping of carbon pollution from our power plants and complete new pollution standards for both new and existing power plants.”

Obama also asked the Senate to confirm his nominee to head the EPA, Gina McCarthy, while he noted that President Richard Nixon created the federal department.

As the president neared the end of his speech, he invited all to get involved. “Americans are not a people who look backwards; we’re a people who look forward,” he said. “We’re not a people who fear what the future holds; we shape it. What we need in this fight are citizens who will stand up, and speak up, and compel us to do what this moment demands.”
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Robert Devaney •

On Tuesday, June 25, President Barack Obama will deliver a major address at Georgetown University to lay out “his vision for a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare our country for the impacts of climate change and lead global efforts to fight it,” the White House announced.

“This is a serious challenge,” Obama said of climate change in a White House tweet. “But it is one uniquely suited to America’s strengths. We’ll need scientists to design new fuels, farmers to grow them, we’ll need engineers to devise new sources of energy, and businesses to make and sell them. We’ll need workers to build the foundation for a clean energy economy. And we’ll need all of our citizens to do our part to preserve God’s creation for future generations…. ”

For Georgetown University, the president’s appearance at the Old North building in the Dahlgren Quadrangle continues a tradition that goes back to George Washington, some of whose relatives attended Georgetown. In the shadow of historic Healy Hall, Old North is considered the oldest building on the university’s main campus. Presidents Adams, Polk, Lincoln, Grant, Ford and Clinton have also visited Old North. Obama will be the 14th president to do so, while more than half of the 43 U.S. presidents have visited the university.

“We welcome President Obama back to campus to continue this tradition as the 14th president to visit the steps of Old North.” said university president John DeGioia. Obama spoke on energy policy at the university in March 2011

The president’s remarks are scheduled to begin 1:35 p.m. and are closed to the public.

Jordan Hellmuth •

A very fitting white carpet was rolled out June 21 for the D.C. premiere of Roland Emmerich’s new action flick, “White House Down.” After all, it is the White House and other locales shown in the film, such as the Capitol building. The White House earlier played host to a screening of “White House Down.”

But on Friday night, June 21, the AMC Loews Georgetown theater welcomed stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Joey King for the first stop on the “White House Down” press tour. And it was a mob scene on K Street near Wisconsin Avenue.

Fans screamed requests of marriage and “I love you” from the sidewalk as star after star stepped onto the white carpet. Others were quick to call out to favorites like Tatum and Foxx, holding out their smart phones to take “selfie” pictures, still screaming in shock and joy after each star then continued down the carpet. An open-top, double-decker bus passed by just in time and got stuck in traffic long enough for each passenger to snap pictures and get the best view of the action.

The stars were welcomed by screaming fans–and also by the likes of federal officials, including Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who said she hasn’t seen any of Tatum’s previous films but added at Friday’s D.C. premiere, “I will now.”

Tatum was the first to be cast by Emmerich, who also directed “Independence Day” and “The Patriot,” as U.S. Capitol Police officer, followed by Foxx, who was thought to be the perfect fit for the role of the African American president.

Joining Tatum and Foxx on the big screen is Gyllenhaal, playing a secret service agent, and Joey King, playing Tatum’s movie daughter.

Gyllenhaal spent her Friday afternoon before the premiere catching up with a friend in D.C. and exploring the National Mall. “I didn’t realize how patriotic I am,” she said. “My high school American history was all coming back to me.”

Emmerich brings an all-star cast and classic location to the big screen, with the challenge of setting his film apart from others surrounding D.C. and terrorism.

Writer James Vanderbilt wanted, “to just make [‘White House Down’] a big, summer, thrill-riding type movie and that’s, I think, what probably differentiates us from some of the other films.” Recent Washington, D.C., action flicks that center on the president and the White House include “Olympus Has Fallen.”

The film is loaded with action scenes, but Joey King insists it’s much more than just another all-action, all-violence movie. “There are so many great scenes,” King said. “There are so many action-packed scenes. There’s so many nice, sweet scenes. It’s hard to say. There are so many funny scenes, too.”

“We had a great time,” said producer Brad Fischer. “And we hope that people have as much fun watching it as we did making it.”
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Georgetowner •

Unacceptable Levels Movie Screening

June 20th, 2013 at 07:00 PM

D.C. premiere of “Unacceptable Levels,” an environmental health documentary about the use of chemicals in society.
Address

E Street Theatre; 555 11th St NW

Compost Workshop at Tudor Place

June 22nd, 2013 at 10:00 AM | $5-10 | Event Website

Hate throwing kitchen scraps in the garbage but lack room to compost outdoors? Join Kristin Brower from the Neighborhood Farm Initiative and learn about the wonderful world of vermicomposting. Vermicomposting is simple and easy and produces an extremely valuable and nutrient-rich compost and soil amendment. You will learn the basics along with how to build and maintain your very own family of worms.

Address

Tudor Place; 1644 31st Street NW

The Arlington Festival of the Arts

June 22nd, 2013 at 10:00 AM | Free | info@artfestival.com | Tel: 561-746-6615 | Event Website

June 22 – 23, 2013, The Arlington Festival of the Arts. 100 of the finest artists in country will converge upon Highland Street in Clarendon for a two-day juried outdoor gallery style art exhibit. A wide variety of original artwork will be on display and for sale with prices set to suit all budgets. Gourmet food trucks and art prize giveaway. Saturday & Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, www.ArtFestival.com – 561-746-6615. Free.

Address

1101 N. Highland Street; Arlington, VA 22201

Through the Lens

June 22nd, 2013 at 11:00 AM | $10.00 | Event Website

Join fellow photographers, both professional and amateur, for a special tour of the museum. Gain access to restricted areas for unique shots and learn about photography’s role in the building’s history.

Includes admission to museum exhibitions. Pre-registration required.

Address

National Building Museum; 401 F Street NW

Oatlands’s Greenhouse Birthday Party and Butterfly Habitat Planting

June 23rd, 2013 at 01:00 PM | Free | marcia@bendurepr.com | Tel: 703.777.3174 | Event Website

Enjoy cake, balloons, and singing for the newly restored greenhouse’s 203rd birthday, and get involved with Oatlands’ Monarch Waystation by helping us plant 100 new milkweeds (butterfly plants), which monarch butterflies need to survive!

Address

20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane; Leesburg, VA 20175

Cathedral Sings!

June 23rd, 2013 at 07:30 PM | $10 | Tel: 202-537-5527

The Cathedral Choral Society presents Cathedral Sings!, a sing-along for the DC community. All abilities are welcome to sing with accompaniment by organist Todd Fickley.
Admission cost includes a renting of the score and a chance to win two tickets to a future CCS concert

Address

Washington National Cathedral; 3101 Wisconsin Ave NW

Washington Chorus Sings with Rolling Stones

June 24th, 2013 at 08:00 PM | $170-640 | Event Website

The Washington Chorus will perform with The Rolling Stones on their final stop in their North American tour.

Address

Verizon Center; 601 F St NW
Washington, DC 20004

Rachel Scola •

The Washington Center took over the Gap on Wisconsin Avenue Thursday night for a special event as part of their annual InternsROCK program. Interns mingled throughout the store, nibbling on cookies and crudities while enjoying a 30% discount and shopping advice from personal stylists.

The Washington Center started the InternsROCK program four years ago as a way to help interns not just go to work and class, but actually experience what DC has to offer. The first year they had discounts offered from 70 vendors for only 1000 participants, but this year the number of interns reached 4000.

Carmenchu Mendiola, VP of Communications with The Washington Center, says they “try to find vendors students care about” to participate every year. The quality of vendors improves each year, due mostly from the feedback of interns- they asked for cupcakes, and this year interns could get buy one, get one free from Sprinkles.

The Washington Center reached out to Gap this year with the idea that most students need professional clothing to fit into conservative DC, but also are on a college budget. Gap agreed and offered to host the event and the response was great- the store was packed by the first hour of the night and an excited buzz could be heard throughout.

This year the week for the discounts ran June 7-16 and participants needed a keytag to prove they were an intern for the summer. But the InternsROCK program doesn’t just benefit the interns in the city: “It’s a great opportunity for students to know small businesses of DC and become repeat visitors,” urges Mendiola. And with plans for more vendors and more events in the future, the program itself is bound to continue in its repetition each summer.

Robert Devaney •

Boomerang Tours, Inc., has weighed anchor on its custom-built “Pirate Ship,” equipped with water cannons and serving would-be pirates and party-goers on the Potomac. The 90-passenger vessel was built on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, specifically for the Boomerang fleet. With fire engine red sleek paint and the sails blowing in the wind, the Boomerang Pirate Ship makes an impression. The ship will be cruising six days a week with family fun treasure hunt cruises during the day, followed by adult Pirate Party cruises in the evening.
The Pirate Ship boards and docks on the Georgetown Waterfront at Washington Harbour (3100 K St., NW). Founded by Nikki and Dave DuBois in 2006, Boomerang Tours, Inc., offers vineyard tours, concert transportation, nightlife tours, tubing trips and party yacht cruises — as well as a party bus.

Beatriz Parres •

This week, parts of Washington, D.C., took steps to improve their environment and better their water sustainability with odor-scrubbing facilities and new water treatment technology.

The smell of sewer gas along the C&O Canal will soon come to an end. On June 4, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority cut the ribbon for its first odor-scrubbing facility next to Fletcher’s Boathouse.

“I’m happy, definitely and especially because of the areas where there are kids,” said Fatou Sanyang, a Georgetown mom, who spends her mornings walking around the canal with her son.

Although the initiative began in the 1990s, it took years and more than 40 permits to break ground of the first facility in 2010, leading to the beginning of D.C.’s Fresh Air Operation. The project includes six buildings with scrubbers along the 50-mile-long Potomac Interceptor, which carries approximately 50 million gallons of sewage per day. Three of the buildings are under construction in Maryland, and two others, soon to begin operation, in Virginia, according to Pamela Mooring, communications manager at the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.
The buildings will control odors by sucking the sewer gas into the scrubber, getting rid of the smelly gasses and releasing non-odorous air back outside. Two of these buildings will also have public restrooms.

In addition, an effort to build sustainability by cutting water, electricity and toxic chemical use in commercial buildings began in downtown D.C.

The Willard InterContinental on Pennsylvania Avenue, along with property developers and owners Lerner Enterprise, Carr Properties, and W.C. Smith, are now working with Silver Bullet, a company that provides an innovative approach to the use of cooling towers.
The system works in the following way: the processor, which combines UV treatment and additional elements, breaks the oxygen molecule and sends it to the cooling tower’s water supply, where it is combined to form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The new chemical compound prevents bacterial growth and corrosion, and it also reduces water consumption. At the same, this process requires very little electricity, becoming a more efficient and lower maintenance option, according to Carlton Diehl, regional vice president of Silver Bullet.
“It’s an amazingly elegant way of using chemistry,” Diehl said. “You can see the savings from the very first day.”

Innovative, toxic-free and efficient technology is on the rise to help big and small businesses reduce their costs and help protect the environment. Projects like Fresh Air Operation and Silver Bullet’s water treatment technology are examples that should regularly benefit residents and visitors of the District of Columbia.

Racquel Richards •

The District government is paying $400,000 for the cost of the upgrades for Volta Park on 34th Street, while the community fundraiser will take care of the remaining $50,000. The fundraiser is being hosted by Friends of Volta Park Playground Project Renovation Committee.

Throughout the construction process, the tot lot will be closed and later rebuilt.

The park fundraiser cocktail party will be held at the Georgetown Visitation Prep on 35th Street, Friday, June 7, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door or on the website, voltapark.org.

Mayor Vincent Gray, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Director Jesús Aguirre and Department of General Services Director Brian Hanlon announced in October that the District government would be undertaking the largest playground renovation project in its history.

“Improving every resident’s quality of life is one of the main goals of my One City Action Plan, and every child in the District should have a safe and inviting place to play,” said Mayor Gray. “Renovating these playgrounds is an investment in the well-being of our children that will pay dividends for years to come.”

As part of his Playground Improvement Project, Gray tasked the parks department with identifying the playgrounds across the city most in need of renovations. Initially, this project was to be a multi-year endeavor as the District worked to improve all of the playgrounds in the city’s inventory. However, Gray pushed this initiative to the front of the line and worked with his budget team to identify additional end-of-year capital funds to both add additional playgrounds to the project and accelerate the pace of renovations. As a result, a total of 32 playgrounds will now be renovated in Fiscal Year 2013.

The summer public pool officially is open.

Rachel Scola •

It’s official: the speed camera on K Street under Washington Circle had the most revenue out of all of the speed cameras in the District of Columbia since October, the start of fiscal 2013.

Just east of Georgetown, the K Street camera alone raised $8.1 million, according to the Washington Post. This amount sounds like an even larger when you consider the second highest grossing camera, southbound on 295, had an income of $4.6 million. Both of these cameras’ revenue makes up only a fraction of the total $78.8 million the District earned from speed cameras in fiscal 2012, according to WTOP.

This is an impressive number for the District to rake in. Amid complaints that the cameras are not so much for safety but for profit, the District Council moved to adjust fines this past year, reported NBC Washington. Despite the decrease in certain fines (a drop for going 15 mph or less above the speed limit), not all drivers are slowing down with the cameras continuing to generate revenue for D.C.

In research reports by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, cameras do increase safety, while drivers and pedestrians alike agree that cameras can decrease the number of automobile accidents. Could this mean even more cameras in the District’s future?

The Metropolitan Police Department lists all of the speed cameras on its website, and there are indications that it will add more red light and stop sign cameras. No matter one’s opinion on the cameras’ effect on safety, drivers should be aware of the consequences of speeding past a camera or going through a red light and should not be surprised when a ticket arrives at their door.

Gary Tischler •

Carol Burnett, a legendary, triple-threat (television-movies-stage) performer, has been named the recipient of the 2013 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

It’s about time. Burnett brings the award back to a lifetime achievement award status with — at the age of 80 — a rich, if probably not yet finished, career to her credit. Her 11-year-television show, named after her, full of skits with idiosyncratic sidekicks, regulars and notable guests making appearances, was named one of the 100 best television shows ever.

The prize gives Burnett the distinction of being one of the few artists of any sort to win both a Kennedy Center Honor and a Mark Twain Prize, and the only woman to do so.

There have been, in fact, five women awarded the Mark Twain Prize, three in the last four years, counting Burnett. Ellen DeGeneres, the sparkling sitcom star, standup comedian and star of her own talk show won last year. Two years ago Tina Fey, the popular Saturday Night Live regular, star of her own sitcom and a number of films, was awarded the prize at the tender age of 40, with the kind of resume that could pass for a footnote on Burnett’s career. Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin have also won the prize.

If you look at Burnett’s life, times and professional career—let’s not forget her appearances on “All My Children,” a daytime soap opera of which she was a super fan and in which she made several appearances as Verla Grubbs, the long-lost daughter of Langley Wallingford—she strung together acts of magic and creation.

Sure, she was a comedienne—and a sometime hoofer, a Broadway star, a television super-star and finally a much beloved legend—but perhaps the best compliment you can throw her is that she was a fine, remarkable actress, because all those klutzy characters, those loud, insecure seekers of attention, those skits and sketches and send-ups of famous and infamous people, were about acting. As somebody wise once said, it’s easy to do tragedy, but comedy is hard.

Burnett is one of those true believers—in herself—who came out on top by sheer force of perseverance. She grew up in tough circumstances, raised in Texas and then California by a grandmother. She studied journalism, but when the acting bug bit her, well, she’s still got the teeth marks. Look at the record: “The Carol Burnett Show” lasted 11 years, had an average of 30 million viewers in pre-cable days. She or her show received 25 Emmy Awards, 12 People’s Choice Awards, eight Golden Globes, the Horatio Alger Award, the Peabody Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is a member of the Television Hall of Fame and has an entire square named after her in Los Angeles.

And she has friends, slews of them, in a business not noted for its kindness. But Carol Burnett is just that—and she’s always preternaturally funny.

Did we forget—she’s written three books and a play, which she co-wrote with her late daughter Carrie, who passed away from cancer four months before it was scheduled to open in Chicago? “Hollywood Arms,” directed by Hal Rince, opened on Broadway in 2012.

Playing in clubs and staging her own musical revue, she struggled in New York until she ended up singing a song she made famous, the satirical “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles” on television. A star turn in the comedic musical, “Once Upon a Mattress,” came next and was followed later by an Emmy-Award winning special, “Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall,” which was performed with her good friend and star Julie Andrews. Burnett’s own show debuted in 1967.

You could find regulars like Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, who had nothing in common except talent that was, like that of the star of the show, unique, original and one-of-a-kind. Over the years, stars Lucille Ball, Ella Fitzgerald, Liza Minelli, Rock Hudson, Jimmy Stewart, Gloria Swanson, Betty White, Cher, Dick Van Dyke and, yes, Ronald Reagan appeared on her show.

The constant was Burnett. She was always funny, often endearing, seemingly made of three left feet, but always human. When you saw her on stage, in your living room, at a lecture hall, in a movie, you always saw a piece of yourself and the voice was instantly recognizable, whether you were a man, woman or child, old, young or confused. She knew how to play the full scale of what performers can do and that’s what made her a great comedienne as well as a great actress.

She lent her quirky and believably humorous qualities to films: “The Four Seasons,” the remarkably powerful “Friendly Fire” on television and numerous other projects. We spotted her once playing a black widow serial killer on “Law and Order: SVU,” where she managed to be both scary and touching.

Mark Twain would indeed be pleased.